1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a cargo storage system for a vehicle and, in particular, to a rack system for supporting elongated items on a vehicle.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Many vehicle owners frequently haul materials or items that are longer in length than the carrying capacity of the vehicle. This is especially true for pickup truck owners who commonly carry loads which are longer than the length of the truck bed.
Transporting elongated loads in a pickup truck often is cumbersome because one or both ends of the elongated load must extend beyond the ends of the truck bed. The extent to which the load can extend beyond the rear end of the truck also is limited by road safety rules.
Truck owners also commonly tie down or secure the loads to the truck in an awkward manner, which frequently results in an unstable and dangerous loading. The elongated load can easily shift or move, and even fall from the moving truck. The elongated load also may scratch the paint and damage the exterior surface of the truck when secured in a haphazardly manner.
To improve the transportation of elongated loads in pickup trucks, permanent and semi-permanent racks have been used, but prior racks tend to be bulky and awkward to use. For instance, many contractors and tradesmen permanently install a rack on their truck to carry larger items, such as ladders, pipes and sheets of plywood or drywall. These racks generally extend upwardly from the sidewalls of the truck bed and typically form a large, permanently-joined structure that is fixed to the truck bed. The joined sections of prior truck racks also generally include legs or other supporting members that are permanently or semi-permanently attached to the sidewalls and floor of the truck bed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,337 issued to McDaniel, discloses an example of a typical prior rack Used with pickup trucks.
Although prior racks are useful in carrying elongated loads, the size and mounting arrangement of prior racks make them difficult and cumbersome to install and remove. Prior permanently installed racks also tend to limit the usefulness of the truck because the rack tends to interfere with the loading of other items into the truck bed. For instance, prior racks generally have various supports and trusses which extend into or across the truck bed and are fastened to the sides and/or the floor of the truck bed. Items thus must be loaded beneath and between the legs or supports of the rack. Prior carrying rack designs have limited the usefulness and loading capacity of the truck bed.
Moreover, many people who use their trucks for work do not want their truck encumbered with a large, permanently attached, expensive rack when not at work. Such racks tend to spoil the aesthetics and overall usefulness of the truck. And prior racks are difficult to remove from the truck bed and store when not in use.